Saturday, July 19, 2014

This Poem Travels in a Circle



This poem is a cool gray summer morning 
in the country.
This poem is a wish, a wistfulness,  and a wondering.
This poem will not travel far from its doorway today.

In this poem, the grass has not yet burned away, 
and the horses are grazing peacefully,
whickering from time to time, and swishing their tails.
On the porch, the chimes sound like Tibetan singing bowls,
transporting the poet to the Himalayas,
right out of this dusty little mill town 
where somehow she has become stranded.
Still, there is much to be said
for a cool gray summer morning in the country.

In this poem, the poet's heart is trembling on the brink
of accepting a compromise she does not wish to make,
whose cost is too dear.
She longs for what is not, struggles with the  acceptance of what is.
She wonders what the lesson is, and is puzzled: 
haven't there already been enough lessons?
This poem is doing a lot of wondering.

Today, the poet will stay home.
She may even stay in her pajamas.
She will make her way between her desk
and her couch, as she so loves to do.
She will connect with her online friends,
and then disconnect by plugging in a movie,
and escape to someone else's reality.
This poem will travel full circuit
from worldview to living room and back again.
This poem will writhe and complain and mutter
and, in the end, find its way home.

This poem is willing to find the contentment
of a cool gray summer morning in the country.
This poem does a lot of wondering, but has enough philosophy 
to come to grips with What Is and find the good in it.
This poem thinks it is staying home,
but has actually traveled a very long way
without ever walking through the door.

Hannah's challenge at Real Toads is to try out her new Boomerang Metaphor form which I love to bits! This time i just played with it a little, and enjoyed its possibilities. I love this form, Hannah, and especially love the poems you have written in it.

20 comments:

  1. Oh! This poem is fantastic! I love each extended stanza, the horses grazing, the wonderment and the contentment of home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. enjoy not moving far from your door today with this poem...i did not cut the grass this week because i was afraid it would burn....supposed to rain this eve though and all day tomorrow so i will probably come home to high grass...ha....love that contentment in the country...think i will take this poem out to the arbor and picka load of grapes...and maybe sit there and watch the sun and clouds move a bit..

    ReplyDelete
  3. ... so real we don't need to go too far to write... wonder how many poems have been written while wearing P.J.'s... stop by my place... I wrote something you may like

    ReplyDelete
  4. O, Sherry! This poem trembles with acceptance a touch above sorrow, it breathes deeply of the happy knowledge of how many lives it touches. It is a gift of you. I will keep this poem forever.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This poem touches my heart, because like Susan says, it's a touch above sorrow. Acceptance is one of the most difficult things we do, and this poem knows it.
    I'm going out to dinner tonight. My husband's a social butterfly. Me, I'd rather stay home in my pj's with a movie and my ipad by my side but I do have to go out once in a while. Hope you enjoy being with you Sherry.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have mastered the form, Sherry! I so enjoyed this ....

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm so thrilled, Sherry!!

    I love the way you explored with this form...and I LOVE that yes, you've traveled so far without ever really leaving. The mention of circles is perfect as this form does bring the writer and reader full circle. Thank you so much for writing this and for all the help in promoting my new form, Sherry! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  8. You make this form your own, Sherry, and share a great deal of yourself in a delightful and relatable way--thanks much. Take care this day. K.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gosh, I'd enjoy a day like you describe in your poem. Lots of honesty and truth here. So true that the poem travels far and wide for those of us who blog. Wonderful poem.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love this self-knowledge of a contented soul who always inspires the like of us longing for what is not and struggling with the acceptance of what is...inspiring lines Sherry..love the photo :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. i love how a poem can be so many things at once and how it can make us travel the world even if we're in our pajamas the whole day... a bit of magic as well how poetry teaches us bits and pieces about ourselves..it's like a mirror sometimes

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love how the online writers bring us out of our comfort zone, out of door to the world outside ~ Enjoy your time indoor & watching a movie ~ Have a good weekend Sherry ~

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, go wild, Sherry, and get dressed! (says she who got dressed to run errands and then came home and promptly reverted to sleepwear at noon!)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Some days a person just needs to stay put and sleepwear the order of the day!! I empathize.

    ReplyDelete

  15. Sherry, this is uncanny, as I am having much the same day and thoughts...very moving with the shot of horses..a poem to keep for sure

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well sherry in your pyjamas and your way from desk to couch youve created a master piece... smiling.. loved reading it!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I wish that I had written this, Sherry. It's fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sherry, this is fabulous!! i too wish I had written this!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is wonderful! Just a rollicking creative ride. So-o-o-o good!

    ReplyDelete
  20. like what you did with the form - personal yet connecting ~

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate it and will return your visit soon.